University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Open 2002 Cross Country Season. :: Buchanan, McNair to lead OU in season debut.

Sooners Open 2002 Cross Country Season. :: Buchanan, McNair to lead OU in season debut.
 
 
 

 
Jimmy Buchanan is expected to be one of the Sooner leaders in the season opener at Wichita.
  
 
Sooners Open 2002 Cross Country Season.

Buchanan, McNair to lead OU in season debut.

Sept. 6, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma men's and women's cross country teams head north to Wichita, Kan., for the John "JK" Kornelson Classic on Saturday. The meet will be the debut of the 2002 squad and new Sooner head coach Rodney Rothoff.

The women will run a 5K race starting at 10 a.m. and the men will follow with a four-mile event at 10:30 a.m. This meet comes after just 10 practice sessions for the Sooners and Rothoff. The former Tennessee coach joined the Sooner staff on August 20.

An Interesting Field

Joining the Sooners and host Wichita State in the field are Oklahoma State, Southwest Missouri State, Hutchinson CC, Pratt CC, Cowley County CC, and McPherson College. The Division I teams will be in one division and OU and Wichita State also will use their finishes in a double dual.

Competing for the Sooners

Making the trip to Wichita for the meet are Alaina Dearman, Tiffany Johnson, Sara Justice, Jackie Dubois, Emily Leonard, Amanda Luksetich, Julie Miller and Kim Thomas on the women's side and Jimmy Buchanan, Jason Brown, Andrew Call, Trevor Gillum, Billy Grona, Kevin Howarth, Darren Hutchins, John Mulholland and Joey McNair on the men's side.

The Coach Says, I

"I've been very pleased with how the team has accepted me as a new coach. Many of the men stayed in Norman this summer and trained together. As a result, they have come in better shape. They did a lot of base work, a lot of running on their own. "The women have been very cooperative and very eager to learn. They are great listeners and want to improve. "It has been a very positive reaction. We are learning to trust one another. They are all willing to listen and take direction. I have been very pleased through our limited number of training sessions."

The Coach Says, II

"Our goal this season is to improve our finish in the conference from last year. To do that, we must continue to improve each time we compete. We must work to have a better experience each week. We are working together to get to know one another, to trust one another. They are working hard to learn what I expect, how I expect them to train and that the way we are working will lead to more success."

The Coach

Rodney Rothoff joined the Sooner coaching staff in August after two seasons as the head cross country and assistant track coach for the Tennessee women's program. In his tenure in Knoxville, Rothoff coached 11 NCAA cross country and track All-Americans. He coached the 2002 SEC champion in the outdoor 800 and had four All-SEC cross country selections. His 2001 cross country team was the SEC runner-up.

A 1990 graduate of Methodist College in North Carolina, Rothoff has also coached Clemson and Arkansas-Little Rock.

Next Up

The Sooners will return to competition on Sept. 21 when they travel to the SMU Invitational.